Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2023-24

Miscellaneous Offences

Miscellaneous offences accounted for 8% of all offences recorded in Scotland in 2023-24. Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, the number of Miscellaneous offences recorded by the police increased by 8% from 12,793 to 13,848. There was an increase of 9% since 2014-15.

The national rate of recorded Miscellaneous offences increased slightly from 23 per 10,000 population in 2022-23 to 25 per 10,000 population in 2023-24.

The Miscellaneous offences group includes the following categories:

• Community and public order offences
• Environmental offences
• Licensing offences
• Wildlife offences
• Other miscellaneous offences

In 2023-24, of all Miscellaneous offences:

• Community and public order offences were the largest category, accounting for 71%
• Wildlife offences accounted for 11%
• Other miscellaneous offences accounted for 9%
• Licensing offences accounted for 6%
• Environmental offences accounted for 3%

In 2023-24, Community and public order offences accounted for the majority of miscellaneous offences, these are discussed in more detail below.

For further information on the other Miscellaneous offences categories please refer to the 'Supporting documents' Excel workbook for this bulletin. This includes data on the number of offences recorded in each category (Table 2) and rates per 10,000 population (Table 4). The workbook includes an ‘Introduction’ sheet, with information on how to navigate the tables, alongside a ‘Notes’ sheet, with relevant details to assist users when reading and interpreting results.

Community and public order offences

The Community and public order offences category includes a wide range of offences. The main ones are General post office/telecommunications offences (which account for the clear majority of the category, at 83%), Computer Misuse Act 1990 – unauthorised access only (5%), and False or hoax calls to emergency services (5%).

Over the ten year period from 2014-15 to 2023-24, the number of offences recorded in the Community and public order offences category has increased by 21%. There was a 7% increase in the most recent year, from 9,137 in 2022-23 to 9,778 in 2023-24.